Tile Mosaic Girl

New Fair Display Walls!!

OMG! I am SO excited! I found some great stuff today on my latest trip to the Habitat for Humanity Resale Store in Denver.  (They have stores located across the U.S. and Canada, all of which benefit Habitat for Humanity’s excellent program.)  I often find great grout, caulk, and tiles at the Resale Store, much of it donated from home improvement stores when the manufacturer decides the new season calls for a new shade of ‘white’.  This time, I was looking for something to use as a fixture in my upcoming summer fair booth that I could hang my mosaics on; like a vertical wall that’s freestanding.

Well, hallelujah, I’m here to tell ya, I found the PERFECT thing for it and I am SO excited! It’s a brand new set of bi-fold doors; 2 sets of 2 doors adjoined by hinges, that can stand upright very well, but I’ll hit Depot for some kind of L-brackets to mount on the bottoms so they have some support on the floor for the weight of the mosaics.  These ones are perfect because they’re brand new, unfinished, completely flat surfaced, and 6 feet, 8 inches tall!!!  And, for a zippy lil price of $45 for all 4 doors, they more than fit into my fair ‘budget’.  I thought I would share this ‘find’ of both the display option and the Habitat stores, if you weren’t already aware.

Closer-up of new display walls

I also scored an awesome wooden display cube that I can use as a riser or a double shelf for displaying tabletop items.  This one’s great because the depth on it is at least 12″, which is much larger than most riser-type fixtures.  And, at $5.00, ya can’t beat that!One more thing I found myself not being able to leave at the store was the most awesome, super-duper, cool, yummy-rific, bright baby blue, ceramic, completely in great shape, TOILET!  Yes; you heard it here; I AM going to mosaic a toilet and put it in my backyard!  The tank’s going to become a planter and the bowl will either be a birdbath or have a fountain in it!  It was only $35!  I canNOT wait to be able to start gluin’ on that baby after the fair and get it in the yard for summer!!!

'Fish Bowl' by Jean Wells

Barbie Pink Toilet

Garden-y Mosaic Toilet

Fun Sunny Mosaic Toilet!

New jewelry blanks at Hobby Lobby

New Bracelet blanks at Hobby Lobby

Yep; you read that right! Last week I found some awesome new jewelry blanks (or ‘bezels’) at Hobby Lobby and this week they’re on sale for 50% off (through Sat. 5/22 only!)!!!  YEY!  These ones are GREAT for mosaic jewelry cuz they have deeper bezels than just a flat plate.  I’ve included some pics here; they include pendant blanks, super cool bracelets, earring blanks (incl. clip ons), and, esp. some awesome new hair pins, barettes, and ponies w/ deep bezels!  The price range is only $ 1.47 – $2.99 and that’s BEFORE the 50% off sale this week!

This is GREAT news for those of you that can’t afford to make a big online order or don’t qualify for wholesale prices, or just need some jewelry blanks last minute.  So; head on down to your local Hobby Lobby; I looked it up and they have stores in 35 states (but, alas, no West Coast states; sorry my many wonderful friends there!)!  Grab some, get ur tube of E6000 (epoxy) glue if you don’t have it already, their ear wires & chains are also 50% off, and some millefiori, tile, glass, polymer clay, or paper designs & resin, and GO TO TOWN!

New Hair Jewelry Blanks at Hobby Lobby

I’m excited to share; the NEW Garden Mosaics class at Colorado Free U.  is coming up, starting this Sunday, May 16th! I know I’m totally hankerin’ to do some stuff for my garden; I’ve already got a couple of projects in the works! Would love to see you there, and, if you can pass this on to any Denver area friends you think might be interested too, please do!

Here are the details:

Come join me and several other fun folks to craft your own garden mosaic art piece! Choose from a birdhouse, stepping stone, flowerpot, or plaque, and learn how to embellish it with colorful bits of tile and glass. In the first class, students learn the basics of making mosaics for an outdoor environment and work to complete an original design on their piece. In the second class, students will grout their piece and bring it to life. Leave the second class with sealer to take home and apply later. A wide variety of materials are provided to complete one piece, but students may “upgrade” by purchasing more elaborate supplies. (NOTE: I will have vitreous glass tiles and stained glass tiles to use in this class!!) Information on garden mosaic basics, great sources for materials and supplies, and next-level mosaics will be included in this fun, hands-on course.

Absolutely no previous mosaic experience or ‘artistic ability’ required; come see how easy it is to tap into your creative spirit and learn this wonderful craft!  TERRIFIC stress reliever; you will get ‘lost’ in the work and have a great time!  Make something colorful and fun for your garden or patio so that we can welcome the SUN back to the Front Range this year!

Class consists of (2) 3.5 hour sessions; 7 hours total over two Sunday afternoons; 1-4:30 pm, May 16th & May 23rd, at Colorado Free U. in Lowry (between 6th Ave. & Alameda, off 1st).

Safety glasses are required; bring your own or purchase from instructor for additional $5.

$69 Member (nominal annual membership fee; see www.freeu.com)

          $81 Non-Member

$26 materials fee (without safety glasses); $31 (if need safety glasses); payable in class

         $7 optional materials fee payable in class for upgraded materials

Sign-up at https://www.colofreeu-registrar.com/sdc/regclass.html?class=255572

OR www.freeu.com OR call 303-399-0093.

Wanted to share; went to a super cool wholesale bead show in Denver last week; Rings ‘n Things bead Spring “Road Show”; found some terrific Mexican Day of the Dead things to use in my mosaics & mosaic jewelry; SO glad I went! I’ve already used a bunch of their stuff on two mosaic pieces; a candleabra and a frame, and am working on a mirror! Also got some great ball chain and other chain and cord for my pendants.  Find their show sched. at http://www.rings-things.com/Show/show.php  Great prices, free catalogs, and coupons!  And, they are wonderful people out of Spokane, WA, one of my favorite corners of the country!

BTW:  Have you heard of “The Day of the Dead” (“El Dia de los Muertos” in Spanish)? Wondered what it was all about? Wondered why there are so many skulls and skeletons in the artwork associated with the holiday? There is a pretty good, comprehensive description of the holiday on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

I think we can learn a lot from this wonderful holiday and tradition; honoring our loved ones who have passed; remembering the good things about them, seeing death as a more natural part of life and something to not be so feared, etc.  I have been to Mexico many times and visited the wonderful cemetaries, which I feel have a completely different feel than in the U.S. (more positive) and I have seen several of the wonderful altars to the dead, which are incredibly touching monuments to their loved ones.  Check it out and let me know what you think!

Day of the Dead display in Ocotepec, a town outside of Cuernavaca (from Wikipedia)